49ers' Anquan Boldin not buying NFL's safety claims

Wide receiver Anquan Boldin took a critical swipe at the NFL's new emphasis on player safety on Monday, saying "I think the league is covering their butt to be honest with you."

The 49ers wideout was taking part in an online chat with the Bay Area Group and fans when he was asked if he had seen the PBS documentary "League of Denial," which details the NFL's history with concussion studies and protocol.

Boldin said he hadn't seen it yet, and gave the league credit for taking gameday diagnoses out of the hands of coaches and potentially concussed players. Then he added:

"But there are some things that just don't make sense to me. I mean if you're so concerned about player safety then why do you have every team in the league playing on Thursday night when they just competed on a Sunday, knowing how difficult it is for guys to get back to being healthy after playing on Sunday? Guys really don't feel like they're back till probably Thursday or Friday to prepare for that next week."

Boldin paused and then added:

"The league can say they're doing things to protect guys, but I'm not one of the guys buying it."